Obama Makes a U-Turn on Canceled Health Plans

by Christopher Freeburn | November 15, 2013 9:13 am

[1]Faced with falling poll numbers and a potential rebellion among congressional Democrats, on Thursday, President Barack Obama announced that he will permit a change to his Affordable Care Act (ACA)[2].

At a news conference, the president said that Americans whose individual health insurance plans have been canceled because they did not meet ACA requirements can renew those plans for one more year. The president again conceded that the rollout of the new health insurance program — widely dubbed Obamacare — had been badly marred by technical glitches with the federal insurance exchange website, noting that he would “have to win back some credibility on the health care law” and other issues, the Associated Press reports.

The president’s change of heart on substandard insurance plans quickly encountered resistance from insurance providers. One industry trade group responded by noting that “changing the rules after health plans have already met the requirements of the law could destabilize the market and result in higher premiums for consumers.” Similar sentiments were expressed by Louisiana’s Insurance Commissioner, who added that it was “unclear” whether the president’s new proposal could even be implemented now that insurers have already canceled the policies.

Earlier this week, the White House announced that just 27,000 people had signed up for Obamacare through the federal website since its launch on Oct.1.

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